Reading rack



Nov. 2, 1943. C HOPKIVNS 2,333,376

READING RACK Filed Dec.- 11, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

#42040 a Ham ms ATTORNEYS Nov. 2, 1943. H. c. HOPKINS 2,333,376

READING RACK Filed Dec. 11, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Pate'ntecl Nov. 2 i943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE READING RACK Harold C. Hopkins, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application December 11, 1941, Serial No. 422,488

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a reading rack and has for its main object to provide a rack which in general is more satisfactory and efllcient than those which have been used or proposed heretofore.

More particularly it is the aim of the invention to provide a rack which is so constructed and provided with numerous adjustments so arranged that the reading matter or work can be brought up to the desired position before the eyes of the user of the rack, whether seated in a bed or chair or whether in a wholly or partially reclined position, with the least possible eyestrain and physical discomfort.

The invention may be briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings wherein I have shown an embodiment of the invention which operates very effectively,

Fig. l is a front view of the rack;

Fig. 2 is a side view;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the extensible supporting arm of the support for the reading matter extended with reference to the position shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view on an enlarged scale substantially along the horizontal line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5 and 6 are, respectively, a detail front view and a detail plan View showing particularly one of the adjustable fingers which are mounted on the ledge 0f the book support and are swingable to and from a position to engage a leaf or page of the book;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view partly in vertical section and partly in elevation showing particularly the outer member of the extensible arm and the universal connection between it and the book support;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the same;

Figs. 9 and 10 are enlarged views partly in vertical section and partly in elevation showing details of the vertically adjustable column; and

Figs. 11 and 12 are, respectively, an elevational view and a plan view showing a portion of a book engaging member adapted to be clamped to the side edges of the book support and to extend across the front of the same to help support the book or reading matter for use when the reader is in a reclined position.

My improved reading rack is of course adaptable for supporting a book, magazine, or other reading matter, but for the sake of brevity the reading matter will be referred to herein as a book and the member which directly supports it as the book support.

My improved reading rack consists of four main parts, to-wit, a base I 0, an adjustable vertical column H, an extensible horizontal arm 12, and a tiltable book support l3. My invention consists in numerous details of construction of these main parts of the rack and of novelly arranged and functionin parts applied thereto.

The base Ii] comprises a. cylindrical block or body M to which are secured two relatively long supporting feet i5 and two relatively short supporting feet lB, the former being adapted to be extended under the bed or chair occupied by the reader and the-latter feet being so formed that their obstructing effect will be reduced to a minimum and will not cause serious discomfort if trod upon by a person in bare or stocking feet. These supporting feet are arranged apart, the two relatively long feet l5 as well as the two relatively short feet l6 being at right angles to each other.

The two relatively long feet l5 are preferably in the form of straight solid rods which at their inner ends are suitably attached to the lower part of the block M. The inner ends of the rods preferably have-reduced threaded extensions shown by dotted lines at I! which are screwed into threaded openings near the bottom of the block preferably sweated onto the outer end of the rods and constitute the floor engaging members of these rods. To facilitate the removal and application of the feet l5, they may be provided with openings IE to receive a pin which'will serve as a wrench to turn them so that the surfaces of the feet I5 will not be marred as would be the case if a jaw-type wrench were required.

The feet 16 are not only shorter than thefeet I 5 but are formed of rods of considerably smaller diameter than the rods forming the feet l5. The inner ends of these rods or feet l6 extend into openings formed in the lower part of the block H in line with the openings which receive the longer feet l5 and they extend outwardly a short distance from the block and then are bent down- Lh Yme thre de eepe endifi- -.Meun e en slee e 1 Thi e y wh ehiee thee m t, e e ,ee. -tu e 2' an it fl we e dbeer iesa r e :rthe p e f, tub v 2 .I is heldirem-ewxea-'lower.,fitt in g 33. Fitting s2 is s cure wardlyso that at and adjacent their outer ends they will rest on the floor. These shorter feet are preferably secured in the block M by setscrews fitted into threaded openings formed in the lower side of the block.

The vertical column II consists of two telescopic tubes 28 and 2| which may be moved relatively to each other to adjust the height of the book support [3. The lower tube 20 is secured at its lower end to the block preferably by having a pressedfit in a cylindrical opening bored vertically through the block. The upper tube 2! is smaller in diameter than the tube 50 and slides in the latter. The two tubes are adapted to be secured together after they'lhalve been adjusted as to height by a manuallytadjust able clamp 22 including a lower bushing 23 'provided at the bottom with asleeveelike extension secured in the upper end of the tube 20, as .by means of a forced fit, and having an uppe'fe'n er edpar h h i t eaded .exte neny;;;,an the clampl includes also a nut 24 throughyvhieh thetube 2 1 ose ,y, ext nds end v neza skirt portion threaded internally and engaging the threaded part of the bushin pll "Th whWhin and the nut have a cavity formed therein. with ta e ed We l a thi eev vw reundme the npe tu e 115 a sp t sp in s1ee ;2 ..=whi. h, whe -thenut2 i ere adew i eusedete ti tl c am -th tub 2' as t seeureitt the lower u e, wiendwh th m 24is. fer,ewee 1 1 i ease th tub 2| so th i can begs up or do Wn in the lower tube "Io prevent h tub fr m be e l pu le .eut ef h low tub 2.0 the xleiz e en t m1 2 has secured to it, as by sweating, a coll whi h. is. ad e t n a thelew n endte t the s n of i eele nlz- Te pr enttheztub 2 rein. enee i e th fleen hen the ub lowre theinn nd of w of t s ge e g ee i5 is extended across the bore in the block: in wh ehth ew ub i s urede eet ee e ete Th s e ind at d b de t guinea 11 Fig. 4.

; seeure e by e dr Y .fi inv he-pure tu 1" i l n withi fieexi f s: .ey iedrieel wi t i Pi 2 en e re ly. re e e hereen m t. ndiiie e fth rei .by th eas .-.e

ltube 2 e ra-@ whi h se ew dseet th 'thr ee e f e 3. e Pie .7-

The ex nsiblewarm l2 consists of a se ries gof .le i s st wl r naee eate etee e l h en s em a pe iit 'fm dw met en thei e n the mann emee wi hiiezrteee-eenr w 'en uTb n eet b tw e theaters 3 h e e eb yi d br e le ye tir 'ne i' t.to the columng If havetheir ends p secured'respectivdy to an upper-fitting.

sweating to thejsleevej .29, as stated abotatably mounted on pin 21. The lower'lfi ting s vete ee e51 y wea i ieislee ,34 which is" capable of turning on ltube; 2,1 and ie ie dew h n. t e. .3 7? iii tended or contracted.

Thetwo straps 3|. at the outer end of,the .arm

l2 have their ends pivotally secured respectiily toanupper fitting 35.andtofa lowerjiitting along its lower edge.

general at right angles to the panel 39 its top 'iisurie'ae is tapered as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 so that-when .the panel is in inclined position and the book is resting against it the leaves, when turned,.will.notfscr ape against the top surface of theledge. The book support is in turn supported for swinging movement in all directions b he upee end e t e. tube 2191251 h fitti e uwmehes, ee uredao 1 b 11v miy rseleep eeti P! 1; s ppe t n meens fe th SHQRQWP T M/il be observed by reference to iigs. l, 2 3.7, ag that. t i .su e t me n ieethehqek ser e t ehe 1tel t e ente l to th ee attachin meen -eeneieteet t he die 14' h v e flam d ieIY rdl l thr es; th .Re beiee 1 in th 92 @e e em feth tedeuj. th Renews. r el' ue en e The inner" or rear disli' H-is s m 1-5. te fi etteehee e eEbellT-jteet he l-. sw eti tenem in this instance v eein see i ly ime -.eeri ith fe 5 members arid 3H3. ears one pair beingcoh I 41. The ears 'coiiipflsing't'heofi eat-ate ble' .cl

arm, that is to say, toa'pply the book support to the arm it is only necessary to insert the tube 50 in the tube 31 until the flanged lower end of the sleeve-like ball and socket member 49 engages the upper ends of the tube 31 and the fitting 35, and of course to remove the book sup port it is only necessary to lift. it so that the inner tube 50 attached to the book support slides out of the tube 31 attached to and forming a part of the extensible arm.

The ledge 40 of the book support is preferably provided with a pair of page-holders 52 consisting of spring fingers secured by fasteners 53 to the front edge of the ledge 40. They can be swung to or from page-holding position, as indicated by full and dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 5, and when they are not in use they extend alongside the front edge of the ledge, at which time their free ends fit into recessed retainers 54.

The book support has an attachment which will enable the reading matter to be supported so that it can be read by a person in a fully or partially reclined position. As will be seen by reference to Figs. 2 and 3, this attachment consists of an auxiliary book support in the form of a wire 55 having its ends secured to spring clamps 56 which can be clamped to the edge portions of the panel 39 and can he slid up and down along the same. The main or front portion of the wire 55 is adapted to extend across the front of the panel from one clamp 56 to the other so as to partially support the book or other reading matter so as to hold it in a plane tipped forwardly from the vertical, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The end portions of the wire 55 may extend beyond the ends of the panel, as indicated in the drawings, so as to accommodate reading matter which is wider than the length of the panel. This auxiliary book support 55 will ordinarily not be employed, especially if the reader is sitting up in a bed or chair, but can be readily applied to permit reading when the reader desires to read in a fully or partly reclining position, as stated above.

Ordinarily, when the rack is not in use the extensible arm will be collapsed, as in Fig. 2, and swung to one side of the bed or chair, and when the person is ready to read, he will swing the book support and at the same time extend the arm I2 so as to position the book support in front of him. To bring it directly or accurately in front of him, he may turn the book support on the outer end of the extensible arm, thus providing a finer positioning than could generally be obtained if he had to rely upon the swinging of the extensible arm about the axis of the column H. The book support can then be readily tilted so that the plane of the reading matter will be generally at right angles to the line of vision, this being done, of course, by reason of the ball and socket joint at the rear of the book support between the latter and the outer end of the extensible arm.

If the reader intends to read when seated squarely in front of the book support, the latter will be positioned as shown by full lines in Fig. 1. On the other hand, if he desires to read with the upper part of his body tilted somewhat, as, for example, with his arm resting on the arm of a chair, the support can be tilted by reason of the ball and socket connection to a position substantially as shown by dotted lines inFig. 1 so that the imaginary line extending across the eyes of the reader will be parallel to the lines of the reading matter.

Thusit will be seen that I have-provided a reading rack which will enable reading to be accomplished with the least physical inconvenience and with the minimum of eyestrain to the reader regardless of the position-in which he desires or is required to be while the reading is being done. Thus this rack is not only a very useful article but is also so formed as to be neat and attractive in appearance so that it may be used inany part of the home.

While I have shown the preferred construction, I do not desire to be confined to the precise details illustrated, but aim in my claims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a reading rack of the type which is adapt ed to be supported at the outer end of an extensible arm, a book support comprising a panel and a ledge at the bottom thereof, an auxiliary book support in the form of a wire or rod adapted to extend across the front of the book or other material supported by the book support so as to permit the reading matter to be read by the patient when in a fully or partly reclining position, and a pair of clamps carrying said wire or rod and slidably engaging the opposite upright edges of the panel.

2. In a reading rack of the type which is adapted to be supported at the outer end of an extensible arm, a book support comprising a panel and a ledge at the bottom thereof, and an auxiliary book support in the form of a wire or rod adapted to extend across the front of the book or other material supported by the book support so as to permit the reading matter to be read by the patient when in a fully or partly reclining position, and means clamping said rod or wire to the upright side edges of the panel.

3. A reading rack comprising a standard, a pair of sleeves on the standard one of which is slidable thereon, an extensible arm of the lazy tong type composed of links pivoted to one another, the inner end of the arm having adjoining links pivoted respectively to said sleeves, a pair of interengaging members one slidable vertically relative to the other at the outer end of the arm, adjoining links at said outer end being pivoted respectively to said two members, a holder for a book or other reading matter, and a supporting connection for said holder telescopically fitted to the upper of said members.

4. A reading rack comprising a standard, a pair of sleeves on the standard one slidable thereon, an extensible arm of the lazy tong type composed of pivoted links, the inner end of the arm having adjoining links pivotally connected to said sleeves, a second pair of interengaging sleeves arranged at the outer end of the arm and one slidable vertically relative to the other, adjoining links at said outer end being pivoted respectively to said sleeves, a support for a book or other reading matter, a cylindrical member insertable in the upper of said second mentioned sleeves, and connecting means between said support and the upper end of said cylindrical member.

5. A reading rack comprising a standard, a pair of sleeves on the standard one slidable thereon, an extensible arm of the lazy tong type composed of pivoted links, the inner end of the arm having adjoining links pivotally connected to said sleeves, a second pair of interengaging sleeves arranged at the outer end of the arm and one slidable vertically relative to the other, adjoining links at said outer end being pivoted respectively 9. reading rack comprising a; panel. adapteh to; 10

supnept, reading; mattem, a; tubular. member i sentablerin; thevuppero1: saldisleavas a: cenneotim between said: tubuian mnmbei: and the; panel: said tubular member: one; or more? Sarina-like" 1 members attaehedz therein! andc emndimgw' below the: samerandmdantext at their; lower: ends to; ens

gage inner at; said: upper imam-w PM?" 

